Cotton and lint condenser.



A. J. ADERHOLD. co'rrrou AND LINfB commsm. APPLICATION FILED MAY 18 1908 Patented Jan.,25,191 0.

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a'nuzutoi A.J.ADERHOLD.

COTTON AND- LINT' OONDENSER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16. 1908.

947,220, Patented Jan. 25, 1910. 4147 Q 3 In W, 4; Hu mw i= v 3] wammeo n v, o

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A. J. ADERHOLD. COTTON AND LINT GONDENSER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 190B.

Patented Jan.25, 1910.

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awvaMos I I v 1 awe-Lump ALEXANDER J. AD'EXRHOLD, or rmi'vimcrran, ALA AMA.

' oorrorannrmr To all whom it mag concern:

,Be it known that I, ALEXANDER J "ABER- How, a citizen of the United States, residing at Birmingham, inthe county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Cotton and Lint Condenser,- of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cotton and lint condensers.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May'16, 190s.

The primary object of the invention to provide means whereby cotton may be transferred from a gin or linter or a battery of gins or batted.

linters and thoroughly cleanedand A further object of the invention is to provide a condenser the construction and opera tion of which are such as positively to eliminate flying lint and dirt during the cleaning and batting of the cotton.

A further object is to provide a condenser having a suction fan associated ytherewith which removes the cotton from the gin-saws and transfers the same to the traveling belt of the condenser thus dispensing with the usual gin brushes. p;

A further ob ect 18 to provide a condenser having a distributing table which overhangs the endless belt or conveyor and serves to spread the cotton face of said conveyei foreign matter may by the suction fan.

so that dust and other A further object is to provide a condenser capable of being employed as a feeder to a cotton gin or linter without the necessity of altering the construction of changing or either device.

A still further generally to improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability,- and efficiency. x Further ob -teeteand advantages will pear in the following description, irbeing understood that various changes inform, proportions and minor details, of construm tion may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a. part of this specification: Figure l is a side elevation of a condenser constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view looking at the opposite side of the machine, a portion of the casing being broken away to show the interior construction of the same. Fig. 31s a transverse sectional view taken on the line of F ig. 2.

uniformlyover the surbe effectually removed object of the invention is l l l Patented 1 Serial No. 433,269.

the condenser. ing the manner with a. cotton of Fig. 5.

Similar numerals of reference indicate eorres ending parts in "all of the figures of the drawings;

Fig. 5 is a similar view show= of connecting the condenser gm. Fig. 6.1s-a side elevation The improved condenser forming the sub= ject matter of the present invention may be attached to 21 gm or linte'r or gins or linters and by way of tudinal sills 10 is a casing or housing 1'2l'1aving aninterior chamber or compartment '13. for the reception of the cotton from the gin. 5, the cotton being fed to the chamber 13 th'roughan inlet pipe or conveyer 14: one end of which is connected with the gin above the saw, while the opposite end there= of communicates with the adjacent' end of the casin 12. a

Journaled insuitable bearings 15' earned '16 to which are secured drums or rollers 17 and 17 supporting an endless belt or oon= vey'e'r 18; One leg of'the endless belt or con v'eyer l8 trai' els'within the chamber lswhile the opposite leg of the belt extends beneath thei'casing or housing 12, said conveyer be ingformed of wire gauze or other forami nous materialso as to permit small particles of foreign matter to readily pass through thed'sai'ne when the suction device is oper ate Secured to a transverse bar 19 at one end ofthe' frame are U bolts 20 upon which are pivotally-mounted suitable arms 21 carry ing a terminal roller 22 which engages the lower leg of-the belt 18 and serves to take upany slack in the latter. ever, tivo or more rollers ployed for the purpose.

If desired, howtoa batteryof illustration is" shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings in' "connection with a cotton gin of the ordinary belt 8 with a suitable source,

a supporting Fig.4 is atopplan viewpartly in section of by the longitudinal sillslO arespaced shafts 22 may be em Extending through the bottom of the easing or housing 12 and communicating with the chamber 13 is a pipe or dust conductor 23, which latter is connected with a suction fan .24 of any approved construction so as to draw the dirt and other foreign matter carried by the cotton on the belt 18 downwardly within the pipe 23 and thus positively eliminate flying lint and dust during the condensing operation. The bottom of the casing or housing 12 is inclined in the direction of the mouth of the pipe 23, as indicated at 25, there being one or more transverse bars 26 disposed within the chamber 13 and towhich are secured a plurality of spaced longitudinally disposed ribs 27, which l latter form a support for the upper leg of the belt or conveyer 18. The side walls of the casing 12 are cut away to accommodate the rollers or drums 17 and 17 and secured to the side walls at the cut away portions thereof are strips of felt or other suitable material 28 which serve to prevent the inlet of air in order to make suction through the condenser as strong as possible. Strips of flexible material 29 are also secured to the transverse bars 26 for engagement with the drums beneath the upper leg of the belt or conveyer 18, said strip of material serving to prevent the inlet of air to the condenser.

Disposed above and co-acting with the drum 17 is a roller 30, the latter being mounted for rotation in suitable bearings 31 carried by pivoted levers 32. The levers 32 are provided with hooked terminals 33 which engage suitable eyes or links 34 carried by blocks 35 mounted on the side walls of the casing or housing, as shown. The roller 30 in conjunction with the drum 17 serves to form the cotton or lint into bats as the cotton is carried through the chamber on the belt or conveyer 18. A strip of flexible material such as carpet, felt or the like, indicated at 36 is secured to the casing or housing at the roller 30 in order to prevent the inlet of air at this point.

Attention is here called to the fact that the roller 30 is loosely mounted on the easing or housing 12 so as to accommodate itself to the volume of cotton fed through the chamber 13 on the endless belt or conveyer, the links or layers 32 supporting the roller being detachably secured to the eyes 34 so that the roller may be readily removed when desired. The lower wall of the feed pipe 14 is extended within the chamber 13 to form a distributing table 37, which latter is preferably disposed at a slight angle or inclination to the conveyer or belt 18 and serves to spread the lint or cotton uniformly over the surface of the conveyer during its passage through the chamber 13.

Jcurnaled in suitable bearings 38 carried by the transverse bars 11 is a longitudinally disposed shaft carrying a friction pinion 41 which engages a relatively large friction wheel 42 mounted on the adjacent shaft 15.

Secured to the shaft is one end of a. lever 43 the opposite end of which is pivotally connected at 44 with the intermediate portion of a hand lever 45. The lower end of the hand lever 45 is pivotally mounted at 46 on the transverse bar 19 while its upper end is provided with a pawl or detent 47 having its lower face serrated for engagement with an over-hanging bracket or bar 43 secured to the adjacent upright of the supporting frame. It will thus be seen that by manipulating the lever 45 the shaft 40 may be adjusted longitudinally of the supporting frame so as to mbve the friction pinion 41 to different positions on the friction wheel 42 thereby to increase or diminish the speed of the drums 17 and 17. The teeth on the pawl 47 by engagement with the over-hanging bracket 43 serve to lock the shaft 40 in adjusted position. The shaft 40 is slidably mounted for limited lateral movement on a guide 49 secured to the supporting frame at one side of the casing or housing 12.

Disposed at the rear of the guide 49 is a lever 50 the lower end of which is pivoted at: 51 to the supporting frame, while the upper end thereof is secured to the adjacent end of a flexible cord or cable 51, the opposite end of the cord or cable being extended over a pulley or sheave 52 in an arm or support 53 and provided with a terminal. weight 54, there being a bearing block interposed between the lever 50 and shaft 40, as shown. It will thus be seen that the weight 54 will I exert a lateral pull on the upper end of the lever 50 and through the medium of the bearing block 55 shift the shaft 40 laterally so as to normally and yieldably support the wheel 41 in engagement with the friction wheel 42.

The end of the lever 43 is provided with a circular collar 55 for the reception of the adjacent end of the shaft 40, the latter being formed with a terminal head 56 so as to permitrotation of the shaft within the coll lar 55 while at the same time permitting the shaft 40 to be adjusted longitudinally of the supporting frame when the lever 45 is actuated.

Secured to and mounted for rotation with. the shaft 40 is a pulley 57, the latter being connected with a similar pulley 58 on a counter shaft 59 through the medium of a in a suitable bearing 61 on the supporting frame and 18 provided with a wheel or pulbelt 60. The counter shaft 59 is journaled l ley 62, which latter is operatively connected I with the driving shaft 6 of the gin saw by means of a belt 63. An idle pulley 64 is slidably mounted on a. support 65 for engagement with the belt thereby to main l tain the latter at the proper tension. The F1" with" the driving 65 or said belt be seen that when the gin 1s in operation motion will be transniitted through the medium of the belt 63 to the pulley 62 and thence through the medium of the belt and frictiongears 41 and 42 to the drums 17 and 17;soas.to r otate the endless belt or conveyer 18, the fan 24 being actuated at the same time to create a suction in the chamber 13. When the fan 1s operated the suction created in the pipe 23 will draw the cottonoif the gin saws and convey the same through the inlet or conductor 14 to the distributing table 37, the

cotton being uniformly distributed over the upper leg of the endless belt or conveyer 18, in the manner before described. As the cotton travels through the chamber l3 on the conveyer 18 dust, dirt and small particles of foreign matter in the cotton will be drawn or sucked downwardly through the belt into the pipe 23, the clean cotton on the conveyer 18 being fed to therollers 17 and 30 where the same is batted and discharged from the condenser.

It will here be noted that by employing the suction fan 24 th cotton is removed di rectly off the gin saws thus dispensing with the usual gin brushes. It will also be noted that the downward draft or suction produced by the fan 24 willeflectually remove any dust or dirt taken up by the cotton and also prevent the flying offlint and dust during the cleaning andbatting of thecotton.

Suitable display openings are preferably formed in the top of the inlet 14 and the side walls of the casing or housing so as to permit the operator to view the interlor of the chamber 13, said display openings being COV? ered by pieces of isinglass, suitable transparent material 65".'

The pipe 23 may be connected with a dust collector or discharge to the atif desired arranged to mosphere.

Secured to each of theLbearingS .15 at one end of the condenser are threaded rods or screws 66 by means of which said bearings may be adjusted longitudinally of the frame, thereby to aline or adjust the drum carrying the conveyer. If desired the threaded rods 66 may be connected with the bearings at both ends of the condenser so that elther drum may be adjusted, without from the spirit of the invention.

While the condenser is shown inconnection with a cotton gin it is obvious that the same may be used with equally goodresjults in connection with a linter. Thecondenser may also be used as a feeder for a cotton gin or linter by placing the condenser above the gin or linter in which event, the cotton .or seed will enter the condenser through the pipe 14 and be discharged between the drum 1'? and roller other suitable source vzontally disposed belt and transversely glass or other departing mg the pinion t1on wheels,

30 into the gin or linter, the dustand other foreign matter being effectually'removed from the cotton, by the suction created in the pipe 23, in the manner before stated. v

The casing or housing is closed on all sides and so constructed as positively to eliminateflying lint and dust during the cleaning and battingoperation. 1

Having thus described the invention what isclaimed is: i 11: A cotton condenser comprising a casing havingan inlet and an outlet at'its opposite ends and a discharge opening in its bottomfbetwe'en its ends, a foraminous hori moving between the inletand the outlet longitudinally through the casing and inclosed thereby, drums in the inlet and outlet of the casing supporting said belt, a suction mechanism connected with the discharge opening in the casing below said belt, and a feedpipe entering the inlet of the casing and having its bottom projected longitudinally inward and upward over the belt toward the top of thecasing.

2. The combination with a supporting frame, of a casing having a longitudinally inclined bottom and provided with an inlet and outlet, a feed pipe disposed at the inlet, drums mounted for rotation on. the supporting frame, a frictionwheel mounted for rotation with one of" the drums, an endless conveyer carried by the drums and operating within the casing, a longitudinally adjustable shaft journaled on the'frame, a friction wheel carried by one end of the shaft and engaging the friction wheel ofthe drum, means for rotating the shaft, and means extending through one side of the casing at the inclined bottom thereof ice" for creating a suction in the casing between.

the upper and lower legs of the conveyer.

' 3. The combination with a supporting frame, of a casing supported on the frame and provided with a chamber having an inlet and outlet, spaced drums mounted for rotation on the frame, an endless conveyer carried by the drums the-chamber, a feed pipe icommunicating wvith the chamber at, the inlet, a friction 'wheeli rotating longitudinally with one of the drums, a disposed shaft mounted for lateral movement on the frame and provided, with a friction friction wheel of the drum, means for adjusting the shaft longitudinally to change the pinion with respect to the means for yieldably supportin engagement with the fric-. and means for rotating the shaft thereby to impart motion to the con- Veyer. I I,

4. The combination with a supporting the position of friction wheel,

frame, of a casing having an inlet and outi let, drums mounted for rotation on the B pinion adapted to engage'the V and operating within frame, an endless conveyer carried by the drums and operating within the casing, a feed pipe communicating with one end of the casing at the inlet, a batting roller pivotally mounted on the other end of the casing and co-actmg wlth the adjacent drum at the outlet, a friction wheel carried by one of the drums, a longitudinal shaft mounted for lateral movement on the frame and provided with a friction pinion adapted to engage the friction wheel, a lever pivotally mounted on the frame, a weight secured to the lever for exerting a lateral pressure on the longitudinal shaft, means for moving said shaft longitudinally of the frame, and means for rotating the shaft thereby to revolve the conveyer.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ALEXANDER J. ADERHOLD.

Vitnesses W. B. SNAPP, J. H. TERRELL. 

